


All You Ever Wanted

by fuwuneral



Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Red Kryptonite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27125182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuwuneral/pseuds/fuwuneral
Summary: Before Jonathan can make the deal with Jor-El, Lex offers to go to Metropolis to bring Clark back from his Red K summer.
Relationships: Clark Kent/Lex Luthor
Comments: 8
Kudos: 105





	All You Ever Wanted

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little scene from an AU my friend and I were discussing, where Clark rescued Lex from the island and told him everything.

Lex hesitated a moment at the Kents’ front door, feeling like a felon about to turn himself in. The way they looked at him always seemed to carry that implication. He turned over the lead box in his hands, taking a deep breath, then knocked three times.

Martha answered the door, eyes widening at the sight of him. Her mouth fell open for a moment in surprise, quiet. “Lex. Um...come in.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Kent.” Lex stepped inside, taking a quick glance around. The kitchen countertop was scattered with paper clippings and blurry photographs from Metropolis, and the scent of fresh coffee hung in the air despite the late hour. “I’m sure you can guess why I’m here.”

“Clark,” Martha acknowledged. “Lex, did he contact you? Do you know anything?” The worry in her voice made Lex’s heart clench, and he made a mental note to give Clark a piece of his mind when he found him. 

“He didn’t contact me, no. But I was able to pin down where he’s been hiding out. I’m going to Metropolis to find him tonight.”

“He’s not himself right now,” Martha warned, her eyes pained. “He could be dangerous, and it’s definitely not going to be easy to stop him.”

“I know,” Lex assured her, “That’s why I have this.” He opened the box, revealing the Kryptonite ring he’d had made. “If I can catch him by surprise, I may be able to subdue him long enough to get him clear of the red Kryptonite.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“That’s why I came here. I figured someone should know what my plan is, just in case.”

“What plan?” Jonathan Kent appeared in the kitchen doorway, his voice like the fall of a hammer. “Are you going after Clark?”

Lex stiffened, straightening instinctively. “Yes. My contacts have tracked him down, and I think I can get him to come home.”

Jonathan fixed Lex with a wilting glare. “Clark may have trusted you enough to tell you about his powers, but don’t think that means I’ll let you interfere in our lives. This is between Clark and his family.” His voice was like iron. “I’m going to get him myself. I already have a plan.”

“What?” Martha cut in. “What are you talking about?”

Jonathan sighed, taking his wife’s hand. “I spoke to Jor-El. He’ll give me the power I need to bring Clark back home.” He shot another glance in Lex’s direction. “Without the help of a Luthor.”

“Jonathan, you can’t,” said Martha, eyes wide. “Jor-El has done nothing but try to tear our family apart.”

“At least let me try another way before you go consulting the alien who caused this to begin with. You can’t trust him, and you don’t know what will happen if you do this.” Lex paused, waiting for Jonathan’s reaction.

Jonathan looked like if he were any angrier, he would spontaneously combust. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to the caves right now.” 

“Don’t. Please.” Martha looked frantically between Jonathan and Lex, holding her husband’s arm with both hands as if to keep him rooted to the spot.

“I won’t make you ask for my help,” said Lex. “Just hold off on doing anything rash until I’ve given it a try. Worst case scenario, I’ll die, and you’ll never have to tell me to stay away from your son again.”

Jonathan looked ready to keep arguing, but Martha’s grip tightened on his arm. “Jonathan. Let him try. If there’s even a chance he can bring Clark back to us...” she looked up at him imploringly. “Let him try.”

Lex would kill for Martha Kent. She was a saint, even more of an angel than her son. 

“Fine,” said Jonathan after a lengthy pause. 

Lex nodded, relieved. “Give me three days. If I’m not back with Clark in tow by then, feel free to do whatever you think you have to.”

\--

Lex kept his right hand in his pocket, running his thumb over the lead shielding that hid the Kryptonite gem. He’d been idly fidgeting with it the whole way here. He reached up and knocked on the door with his other hand, glad that his childhood had trained him not to show his nerves.

The door swung open to reveal Clark, clad all in black except the red ring on his hand. He was dressed uncharacteristically, but it was the coldness in his eyes that made him look like a different person. Just as beautiful as always, but sharper, with a jagged edge. “Lex. What are you doing here?”

“What do you think?” Lex stepped inside without being asked, genuinely annoyed. “My best friend disappears for three months without so much as a note, and you think I won’t use my deep pockets and extensive network of contacts to track him down? Or do you not recall that the last time one of us went missing, it was because I got stranded on an island?” 

“That was an accident. This was by choice.” Clark shut the door behind Lex. “My parents must have told you that, so why are you here? Did they send you to hit me over the head with a chunk of Kryptonite and drag me back home?”

Lex laughed. “Please. You know your father would just as soon shoot me as let me anywhere near you.” That lie was easy. He was still surprised the Kents had let him come at all. 

Clark turned his back to Lex and stalked to the window, walking with the confidence of someone who wasn’t trying to hide his power. “Remember the last time?” He turned to the side, his stark profile backlit by the window. “When you told me you would drop everything and come with me, then went behind my back and ratted me out to my parents?”

Lex felt a twinge of guilt, which wasn’t even fair. He’d had Clark in front of him, eager to run away with him, and instead he’d done the right thing. “I think we’re all in general agreement that it worked out for the best,” he said.

“Whatever,” Clark scoffed. “Things are different now. This is who I really am, Lex. My parents, Lana, everyone in Smallville was just holding me back.” He turned to look at Lex, those blue eyes fixed on him with dizzying intensity. “Not you, though. Never you, with your ambition. You’re the only one who understands me.” He took a few steps toward Lex. “Let’s do it for real this time.”

Lex’s thoughts screeched to a halt. He’d expected Clark to be angry, and while an angry Clark may result in a concussion and a few broken bones, it would have been a lot easier to face down than this.

“We could go anywhere. I could show the world what I can do, and you would never have to hear your father’s voice again.” This had been dangerously tempting from the start, and it was getting more so with every word. “You know I can give you more than he ever has. We’ll make a new life together, anywhere you want.”

Lex swallowed hard, trying not to imagine it. “It’s a tempting offer, I have to admit.”

Clark loomed over him, crowding him back against the wall. “Come on,” he said, voice low and inviting, promising everything Lex had ever wanted. “Just you and me.” He ran his hand gently down Lex’s cheek, across his jaw. “Together, we’d be unstoppable. Nobody could tell us what to do. Anything you ever wanted, with your mind and my powers, we could have it all.”

“Clark--”

Clark’s mouth was on his all of a sudden, one strong hand cupping the back of his head and the other sliding up the back of his shirt, kissing Lex with a fervor that he’d only ever seen in his fantasies. “I know what you want,” he said in between kisses. In the blink of an eye, Lex was on his back on the bed, buttons raining to the floor as his shirt was torn clean in two. “I want it too. Run away with me, Lex.” He paused with his face inches from Lex’s, just long enough to let him answer.

“I think,” Lex panted breathlessly, cursing himself for how desperate he sounded, “Your parents would kill me.”

“I would never let anyone hurt you.” Clark kissed Lex again, and he thought for a moment that having to say no to this might actually kill him. It would be so easy to give in, and so, so satisfying. He let himself reach up, tangling his fingers in Clark’s thick hair. One more kiss. Just one moment of pretending he could let himself have this. “Just think of it. Kal-El and Lex Luthor.”

The name snapped Lex back to reality. Not Clark. Kal-El. He’d been dangerously close to saying yes, letting Clark sweep him off his feet like he’d always wanted, but this would never be the real thing.

He slid back the lead covering on the ring, tightening his grip on Clark’s hair. “No.” The word took every shred of willpower he had. “It’s time to come home.” 

The look of betrayal on Clark’s face, cast with a sickly green glow, would haunt Lex’s nightmares. He fell onto his side, trembling. “Lex...” he choked out, voice heartbreakingly weak.

“It’s okay, Clark. It’s going to be okay.” He pinned down Clark’s wrist with his right hand, working off the red ring with his left. He grimaced as he noted bulging veins spreading from where the green Kryptonite ring pressed against Clark’s skin. Once the red Kryptonite was safely in the lead box, he closed the cover on his own ring. Clark gasped, the pain on his face quickly fading. 

Lex sat back, breathing a sigh of relief. “Feeling a little better?”

Clark rolled onto his back, exhaling heavily. He looked tired, but otherwise fine. “No. But my head is clear.”

“I’ll call it a success, then.” Lex smiled half-heartedly.

“I’m sorry, Lex,” said Clark. He picked up one of the scraps of Lex’s shirt, recognizable guilt in his eyes. “I’d understand if you can’t even look at me after that.”

Lex looked away, the ache in his chest thudding stronger than ever as he felt the fantasy of a happily ever after with Clark fade away. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “You weren’t yourself.” 

“And you brought me back.” Clark put his hand on Lex’s shoulder, urging him to meet his eyes. “You knew I was dangerous, and you came to bring me home.” He pulled Lex into his arms, holding him tightly. “Thank you.”

“I’m sure you’ll be saving me again before the week is out,” said Lex. “It’s sort of our thing, isn’t it?”

Clark pulled back, but kept Lex close enough to feel his breath. “I’m glad I told you my secret,” he said. 

Lex nodded, pulling away before the urge to kiss Clark could overwhelm him. One of these days, they’d have to talk about that. Not today, though. He sighed, standing up and offering Clark his hand. “Let’s get you home.”


End file.
